InterMat Staff

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 23 Mizzou Wrestling extended its MAC winning streak to 17 consecutive duals with a 22-12 win over Ohio Friday night (Jan. 10) at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou won seven of the 10 weight classes over the Bobcats as the Tigers are now 8-0 all-time against the MAC foe, including a perfect 7-0 since moving to the conference. Mizzou is now 6-4 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in MAC competition following the win. "For me as a coach, I feel like I did something wrong because I didn't have my team ready to wrestle," Coach Brian Smith said. "It wasn't every match, but that's what I saw. Ohio came out with fight and they had opportunities when we made mental mistakes in matches. We can't beat good teams if you're going to do that. Not a disrespect to Ohio, but we did not wrestle well." Friday's dual started at 165 pounds, and Peyton Mocco needed an exciting third-period to pull off an exciting 4-3 comeback win. He started down in the third, earned an escape and then took Nick Vestal down and rode him out for the last half minute to secure the 4-3 win. At 174 pounds, Jeremiah Kent was pinned by Ohio's Logan Stanley in 3:25, despite a dowminant first period. Dylan Wisman righted the ship for Mizzou with a dominant 16-4 major decision with 2:38 of riding time to put Mizzou on top, 7-6, moving to 197. It was Wisman's second major decision this season. At 197, Wyatt Koelling made it two straight wins for Mizzou as he used a takedown in the firs sudden victory period to take a 3-1 win back to the bench. That extended Mizzou's lead to 10-6. The Tigers dropped a tough heavyweight bout as Jacob Bohlken was victim of a late takedown at the hands of Jordan Earnest, who escaped with a 4-3 victory, despite a late escape by Bohlken. Mizzou led, 10-9, moving into intermission. The Tigers were presented with their 2019 MAC Championship rings during the intermission. AS the dual flipped back to the lighter weights, Mizzou 125-pounder Dack Punke turned in the dual's most exciting win. Down 3-1 late in the third after a takedown, Punke earned an escape and immediately took down his opponent, Giovanni DiSabato, to take a 4-3 lead with less than 30 seconds. He rode him out to secure the win and ignite the Hearnes Center crowd. Cameron Valdiviez earned another dominant win for Mizzou with an 8-2 decision, piling up 3:13 or riding time over Trevor Giallambardo. That extended Mizzou's lead to 16-9. Returning All-American Grant Leeth extended Mizzou's lead to 19-9 with an 8-4 win over Shakur Laney. All-American and fifth-ranked Brock Mauller then grinded out a 2-0 win over Ohio's Alec Hagan, scoring one point with 1:47 of riding time. At 157 pounds, 2019 NCAA qualifier Jarrett Jacques dropped a 3-2 decision to Zac Carson to close the night, but Mizzou had more than secured enough points for the victory at that point. Results: 165: Peyton Mocco (15-7) vs. Nick Vestal – W, 4-3 | 3-0 174: Jeremiah Kent (15-5) vs. So. Logan Stanley – L, Fall (3:25) | 3-6 184: No. 23 Dylan Wisman (9-4) vs. Hunter Yeargen - W, 16-4 (2:38 RT) Major Decision | 7-6 197: No. 24 Wyatt Koelling (13-3) vs. R-Jr. Jake Walker – W, 3-1 (SV-1) | 10-6 HWT: Jacob Bohlken (9-6) vs. R-Fr. Jordan Earnest – L, 4-3 | 10-9 125: Dack Punke (11-7) vs. R-Fr. Giovanni DiSabato – W, 4-3 | 13-9 133: Cameron Valdiviez (14-6) vs. RS Jr. Trevor Giallambardo – W, 8-2 (3:13 RT) | 16-9 141: No. 12 Grant Leeth (6-2) vs. R-Sr. Shakur Laney – W, 8-4 | 19-9 149: No. 5 Brock Mauller (15-1) vs. R-So. Alec Hagan – W, 2-0 (1:47 RT) 157: No. 15 Jarrett Jacques (16-3) vs. R-Sr. Zac Carson – L, 3-2 Mizzou will be back in action Sunday as it heads to Northern Iowa for a 2 p.m. dual in Cedar Falls.

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- The top-ranked University of Iowa team defeated Indiana 41-0 on Friday night in Wilkinson Hall, sweeping all 10 bouts and scoring bonus points in four weight classes, including falls from Alex Marinelli, Tony Cassioppi, and Austin DeSanto, and a 15-0 technical fall from Spencer Lee. "Three falls, technical fall, we missed some bonus points too," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. "We had good rides on guys and let them eek out a point at the end. Maybe a little bit sloppy, over anxious, but there were a lot of points there. We have to get ready for the next one now. Moving on." Iowa led 18-0 at intermission. Pat Lugo and Kaleb Young opened the dual with consecutive decisions, and Marinelli made it 12-0 with his team-high sixth fall of the season. He scored three takedowns in the first, one more in the second, and ended it in the third with his newly patented "sugar bull." "When it's there it's there," Marinelli said. "The coaches are telling me bases first, get the guy tired and the turns will come. Sometimes I try them a little too early and the guy will feel it, know it's there, and then react to it later in the period. I think it's good I got to my attacks, got him on his stomach, and arm-barred, stepped over the head, pin." Michael Kemerer and Abe Assad followed with decisions at 174 and 184. Kemerer won 9-6 in his first mat action since Dec. 8. Assad, fresh of a runner-up finish at Midlands, won 6-2 in his college debut. "If I told you I didn't have nerves I'd be lying to you," Assad said. "Everyone has nerves. Even matches when I'm at open tournaments I still get a little nervous before every match. Obviously here the nerves are heightened more, but I knew that if I just went out there and wrestled loose and tried to score points, good things are going to happen. The second half opened with an 8-3 decision from Jacob Warner at 197, and closed with a 6-0 shutout from Max Murin at 141. Somewhere in between, the Hawkeyes needed just six minutes, 18 seconds to get through 285, 125, and 133. Cassioppi registered a fall in 20 seconds at 285. Lee followed with a 15-0 technical fall in three minutes, 16 seconds at 125, and DeSanto ended the 133 bout with a fall in two minutes, 42 seconds. "I told Terry that I feel like this team is so much better than we were tonight," said Marinelli. "We wrestle up to our opponents a lot, and we cannot wrestle down. No matter the ranking we need to go out there and kick butt and take care of business no matter what. We have to go out there and do what we know how to do." Iowa returns to the mat Sunday at No. 18 Purdue. The dual begins at 3 p.m. (CT) at Holloway Gymnasium. NOTABLES Freshman Abe Assad made his official collegiate debut. He became the fourth Hawkeye in the Tom Brands era to wrestling as a true freshman, and just the second to wrestle in his first year removed from high school (Spencer Lee, 2018). Nathan Burak (2013) and Justin Stickley (2017) wrestled as true freshmen but both deferred college enrollment by one year after graduating high school. Spencer Lee (15-0), Austin DeSanto (9-0), Alex Marinelli (19-0), and Tony Cassioppi (2-0) are undefeated in their careers in Big Ten duals. Lugo improved to 11-0 and extended his career-high win streak to 11. Alex Marinelli improved to 11-0 with his team-high sixth pin of the season. He has pinned six of his last eight opponents. Tony Cassioppi's fall in 20 seconds is a career best and the fastest of any Hawkeye this season. Spencer Lee improved to 7-0 with seven bonus-point wins. Austin DeSanto notched his ninth win of the season, and seventh bonus-point win. Max Murin improved to 9-0, extending his career-long winning streak. Results: 149 -- #1 Pat Lugo (IA) dec. Graham Rooks (IND), 10-6; 3-0 157 -- #6 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. Fernando Silva (IND), 11-4; 6-0 165 -- #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) pinned David Tunon (IND), 5:34; 12-0 174 -- #3 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. Jacob Covaciu (IND), 9-6; 15-0 184 -- Abe Assad (IA) Jake Hinz (IND), 6-2; 18-0 197 -- #5 Jacob Warner (IA) Nick Willham (IND), 8-3; 21-0 285 -- #4 Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned Rudy Streck (IND), 0:20; 27-0 125 -- #1 Spencer Lee (IA) tech. fall Liam Cronin (IND), 15-0; 32-0 133 -- #2 Austin DeSanto (IA) pinned Jonathan Moran (IND), 2:42; 38-0 141 -- #7 Max Murin (IA) Eddie Bolivar (IND), 6-0; 41-0 Records: Iowa (5-0, 2-0), Indiana (0-2, 0-1) Attendance: 1,914

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team extended its dual win streak to five with a 26-12 victory over SIU Edwardsville at Alumni Arena on Friday night. The Bulls improved to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in MAC duals. Derek Spann continued his impressive run, needing only 1:48 to pin Jacob Blaha. It was the redshirt-freshman's eighth dual win by pin or tech fall this season. Marcus Robinson followed with an 11-5 decision over Saul Ervin at 141. Robinson used three first-period takedowns to set the tone in the match. After the Cougars had to forfeit the 157 match, Troy Keller followed with a tech fall win over Chase Deihl at 165. Keller had a takedown and three four-point near falls in the first period to take a 14-0 lead after one. The senior finished off the tech fall early in the second period. Pete Acciardi won his second straight dual match with an 8-4 decision over Ryan Yarnell at 184. Sam Schuyler capped the win with a 14-7 decision over Jake McKeirnan at 197. "We're getting better," head coach John Stutzman said. "These guys are doing a really good job out there competing, so it's been fun." The win was the 150th of Stutzman's head coaching career. The Bulls will be back in action at Clarion next Friday night. Results: 125 - Gage Datlovsky (SIUE) won by major decision over Jordan Reyes (UB), 15-2 133 - #15 Derek Spann (UB) won by fall over Jacob Blaha (SIUE), 1:48 141 - Marcus Robinson (UB) won by decision over Saul Ervin (SIUE), 11-5 149 - Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) won by decision over John Arceri (UB), 2-1 157 - Michael Petite (UB) won by forfeit 165 - Troy Keller (UB) won by technical fall over Chase Deihl (SIUE), 18-0 174 - Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE) won by decision over Jake Lanning (UB), 7-4 184 - Pete Acciardi (UB) won by decision over Ryan Yarnell (SIUE), 8-4 197 - Sam Schuyler (UB) won by decision over Jake McKeirnan (SIUE), 14-7 285 - Colton McKeirnan (SIUE) won by decision over Nolan Terrance (UB), 1-0

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (4-1, 1-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, won the last four bouts against No. 24 Illinois (3-2, 0-1 B1G) to pick up a victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Penn State won six of ten bouts including the last for to notch a 22-16 win in front of yet another Rec Hall sellout crowd. With line-up changes brought on by the recent announcement that top-ranked heavyweight Anthony Cassar and All-American 197-pounder Kyle Conel were lost for the season and three other Lion starters out, Penn State roared back from a halftime deficit thanks to wins from two seniors and two true freshmen. A crowd of 6,202 watched Penn State beat the Illini, Penn State's 51st straight sellout in Rec Hall and the 56th of 58 at home (including five of seven in the Bryce Jordan Center). The dual began at 125 where freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) lost a tough 6-0 decision to Justin Cardani. With sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 133 out of the line-up, sophomore Austin Clabuagh (York Springs, Pa.) made his Penn State debut and took on No. 7 Travis Piotrowski. Piotrowski got the fall at the 6:54 mark to give Illinois an early 9-0 lead. Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, got Penn State on the board with a big win at 141. Lee dominated No. 16 Dylan Duncan for 7:00 and used a last second takedown to pick up bonus points with a 13-5 major. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) took to the mat at 149 and got Penn State even closer with a 6-2 victory over Illinois' Mousa Jodeh. Verkleeren used two early takedowns to secure the victory and cut the Illini lead to 9-7. No. 4 Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.) did not compete at 157 and Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) dropped a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Illini senior Eric Barone. The Nittany Lions trailed 12-7 at the dual's midway point. With senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 nationally out of the line-up as well, redshirt freshman Konner Kraeszig (Louisville, Ky.) made his Penn State dual debut at 165. Kraeszig took on No. 15 Danny Braunagel and lost a 12-3 major decision. Braunagel's win put Illinois up 16-7 with four bouts remaining in the dual. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, then put on an offensive show in taking care of No. 8 Joey Gunther. Hall's constant offensive pressure forced Gunther into a flurry of stalls in the final period. With Hall leading 17-6 late in the third period, Gunther took one final stall and was disqualified. Hall's DQ win at the 6:40 mark cut the Illinois lead to 16-13. True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 8 at 184, used a takedown each period to post a hard-fought 9-4 win over Zach Braunagel and the Nittany Lions were tied 16-16. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) made his season debut for the Lions at 197 and came up big for the Nittany Lions. Rasheed, shaking off the rust from missing the first half of the season, used an escape and a late takedown to post a 3-0 win over Matt Wroblewski. Rasheed's season debut win gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the dual, 19-16. True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) made his Penn State dual debut at 285, taking on Illinois' Luke Luffman at 285. Nevills used takedowns in the first and third periods to post the big 6-3 win and clinch the 22-16 dual meet victory for Penn State. Penn State owned a 19-11 takedown edge in the dual. The Nittany Lions picked up four bonus points off one major (Lee) and the DQ win from Hall. Penn State is now 4-1, 1-0 in the Big Ten. Illinois falls to 3-2, 0-1 Big Ten. The Nittany Lions return to action in two days when they host Northwestern in Rec Hall on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 125: Justin Cardani ILL dec. Brandon Meredith PSU, 6-0 0-3 133: #7 Travis Piotrowski ILL pinned Austin Clabaugh PSU, WBF (6:54) 0-9 141: #2 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. #16 Dylan Duncan ILL, 13-5 4-9 149: Jarod Verkleeren PSU dec. Mousa Jodeh ILL, 6-2 7-9 157: Eric Barone ILL dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 5-2 7-12 165: #15 Danny Braunagel ILL maj. dec. Konner Kraeszig PSU, 12-3 7-16 174: #1 Mark Hall PSU win by DQ #8 Joey Gunther ILL, DQ (6:40, stalling) 13-16 184: #8 Aaron Brooks PSU dec. Zach Braunagel ILL, 9-4 16-16 197: Shakur Rasheed PSU dec. Matt Wroblewski ILL, 3-0 19-16 285: Seth Nevills PSU dec. Luke Luffman ILL, 6-3 22-16 Attendance: 6,202 (51st straight sellout in Rec Hall, 56 of 58 overall including five of seven in the BJC) Records: Penn State (4-1, 1-0 B1G); Illinois (3-2, 0-1 B1G) Up Next for Penn State: Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, home vs. Northwestern, 2 p.m. in Rec Hall BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) took on Justin Cardani at 125. Meredith looked to set the tempo early, working the middle of the mat for the first minute-plus. Cardani got in on a low single at the 2:01 mark but Meredith forced a reset and action continued in neutral. Cardani connected on a single with 1:10 on the clock but Meredith was able to work his way into control of Cardani's ankle for the next :30, forcing another stalemate with :50 on the clock. The Lion freshman fought off a third shot and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Meredith chose down to start the second period. Cardani was able to work his way into control of the Lion for the first minute and then turned the Lion for four near fall points. Cardani finished the period on top and Meredith trailed 4-0 after one. Cardani chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-0 lead. Meredith spent the middle part of the period fighting off another Cardani shot, forcing a stalemate with :29 on the clock. Cardani went on to post the 6-0 victory with 1:48 in riding time. 133: Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, did not compete and sophomore Austin Clabaugh (York Springs, Pa.) made his Lion debut against No. 7 Travis Piatrowski of Illinois. The duo battled evenly for the first minute before Piotrowski got in on a low shot that forced a scramble in the middle of the mat. Clabaugh worked his way into a stalemate with 1:33 on the clock. Piotrowski blew through a high double after the reset and took a 2-0 lead on the edge of the mat. Piotrowski controlled the action from the top position for the rest of the period and carried that lead into the second stanza. Clabaugh chose down to start the second period. Piotrowski was able to maintain control for the first :30 before Clabaugh escaped to a 2-1 score. The Illini quickly countered with a quick shot and takedown to up his lead to 4-1, working his riding time over 2:00 in the process. Clabaugh escaped to a 4-2 score after the reset and action resumed in neutral. Piotrowski muscled his way through a third takedown as the period wound down and Clabaugh trailed 6-2 after two periods. Piotrowski chose neutral to start the third period. Clabaugh nearly connected on a high single, but Piotrowski was able to counter the move for a fourth takedown and an 8-3 lead. With 1:15 left on the clock. Piotrowski shot low at the :45 mark but Clabaugh countered the move to force a stalemate at :38. Piotrowski used a high double to take Clabaugh to the mat and then turned him for a quick fall, getting the pin at the 6:54 mark. 141: Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, took on No. 16 Dylan Duncan. Lee scored quickly, using a fast scramble to take Duncan down for an early 2-0 lead. Duncan escaped and action resumed in neutral at the 2:08 mark. Lee snapped a low single and finished it off for his second takedown midway through the period to open up a 4-1 lead. He went to work on top, building up his riding time a bit before cutting Duncan loose. The twosome battled evenly and then Lee countered a late Duncan shot for a last second takedown to lead 6-2 after the opening period. Duncan chose down to start the second period and Lee cut the Illini loose to a 6-3 score. Lee worked the middle of the mat, controlling the action from the standing position as the clock moved under 1:00. Lee could not break through Duncan's defense and carried the 6-3 lead into the third period. Lee chose down to start the third period and quickly reversed the Illini to open up an 8-3 lead. Lee cut Duncan loose at the 1:22 mark and went back to work on offense. Lee countered a slight Duncan shot after forcing a stall and took the Illini down to lead 10-5 after cutting him quickly. Looking for bonus points, Lee worked his way in on a low shot and forced a scramble as time wound down. Lee picked up a takedown with just one second left and, with 1:27 in riding time, posted the 13-5 major decision. 149: Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) took on Mousa Jodeh at 149. Jodeh took an early shot that Verkleeren was able to counter, picking up his own takedown on the edge of the mat to lead 2-0 at the 2:25 mark. Verkleeren then controlled the action from the top position, building up :45 in riding time before Jodeh escaped to a 2-1 score. Verkleeren then shot low, forcing a scramble in the middle of the mat with 1:00 on the clock. The Lion sophomore worked his way through the move for another takedown and a 4-1 lead at the :40 mark. Verkleeren finished the period on top and led 4-1 with 1:33 in riding time after one period. Jodeh chose down to start the second period. Verkleeren controlled the action for a minute before Jodeh got the escape to cut the lead to 4-2. The period finished in neutral and Verkleeren led 4-2 with 2:01 in riding time after two periods. Verkleeren chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 5-2 lead. Jodeh took a low shot that Verkleeren countered, forcing a scramble and a stalemate at the :47 mark. Verkleeren fought off two late Jodeh shots and, with 1:31 in riding time, rolled to the 6-2 victory. 157: Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) stepped in for No. 4 Brady Berge at 157 and battled Illinois senior Eric Barone. The match began with the wrestlers working for control in the middle of the mat. Action was stopped twice early on stalemates with neither wrestler finding an offensive opening. The clock moved down below 1:00 mark with Pipher trying to set up his offense in the middle of the mat. The first period ended in a scoreless tie. Barone chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Pipher and took him to his back. Pipher rolled to an escape and trailed 2-1 at the 1:38 mark. The move was reviewed and two back points were awarded and Pipher trailed 4-0 to start the second period. Pipher worked his way to an escaped and a 4-1 score with 1:10 on the clock and then went to work on offense. But Barone was able to keep Pipher from connecting and the Lion trailed 4-1 after two periods. Pipher chose down to start the final period and forced Barone into a stall warning. But Barone was able to maintain control of the Lion for nearly the full period before Pipher escaped. Barone posted the 5-2 win with over 2:00 in riding time. 165: Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, did not compete and redshirt freshman Konner Kraeszig (Louisville, Ky.) made his Penn State dual debut against No. 15 Danny Braunagel. Kraeszig took a solid high single at the 1:40 mark but Braunagel countered for the bout's first takedown to lead 2-0 at the opening period's midway point. Kraeszig escaped to a 2-1 score and action resumed in neutral with 1:10 on the clock. Kraeszig used a low single to force a scramble with :20 on the clock. The Lion freshman nearly picked up the takedown but the Illini was able to kill the clock and Kraeszig trailed 2-1 after one. Braunagle chose down to start the second period, quickly escaped and then immediately took Kraeszig down to open up a 5-1 lead. Braunagle finished the period on top and carried that lead with 1:45 in riding time into the third period. Kraeszig chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 score. Braunagle took the Lion down and picked up two near fall points to open up a 9-2 lead at the 1:00 mark. The Lion escaped to a 9-3 score with :55 left in the bout. Braunagle finished off the bout with a final takedown and ride out. He finished with nearly 3:00 in riding time and notched the 12-3 major decision. 174: Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, took on No. 8 Joey Gunther. Hall countered an early slight shot by Gunther and took an early 2-1 lead with a takedown and cut just seconds into the bout. He then worked his way in on a high single for a second takedown and led 4-1 with 2:00 left in the period. Hall built up nearly 1:00 in riding time before cutting Gunther loose. He then used a fast high double for a third takedown and a 6-3 lead with 1:07 on the clock. Hall picked up a fourth takedown at the :24 mark and finished the period on top to lead 8-3 with 1:23 in riding time after the opening stanza. Gunther chose down to start the second period. Hall cut the Illini loose to an 8-4 score and then forced a first Gunther stall before grabbling his fifth takedown to lead 10-5 with 1:05 left in the period. Hall picked up a point on a stall and led 11-5 with 1:48 in time after two periods. Hall chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 12-5 lead. He moved his way around Gunther for another takedown and a 14-6 lead with 1:30 on the clock. Another stall point put Hall up 15-6. Another Gunther Stall to lead 17-6 and then, with consistent pressure, forced Gunther into yet another stall and picked up the disqualification victory (stalling) at the 6:40 mark for six team points. 184: True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 8 at 184, met Illinois' Zach Braunagel. The duo battled evenly for the first minute-plus before Brooks broke through on offense. The Lion freshman worked a low single into a takedown to lead 2-1 at the midway point. The Lion freshman continued to pressure Braunagel but the Illini was able to fight off Brooks' offense. Brooks nearly scored on a late shot but time ran out and the Lion led 2-1 after one. Braunagel chose down to start the second period and Brooks controlled the action for the first minute, working his riding time up over 1:00. The Nittany Lion freshman maintained control of the Illini until the :40 mark before he escaped. With time running out in the second, Brooks muscled his way for another takedown and led 4-2 after two periods. He chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Braunagel countered a Brooks shot for a takedown of his own and cut the Lion lead to 6-4 after a Brooks escape. Brooks fought off a late Braunagel shot and countered for a final takedown of his own. He had 1:45 in riding time and posted the 9-4 victory. 197: Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) made his season debut at 197 against Illini Matt Wroblewski. Rasheed and Wroblewski battled evenly for the first minute-plus. Rasheed stepped back from two slight Illini shots and looked to set up his own offense in the center circle. Rasheed took a fast low shot but Wroblewski was able to step aside from the effort and the bout moved to the second period knotted in a scoreless tie. Wroblewski chose neutral to start the second period. The duo continued to hand-fight for the first minute-plus. Neither wrestler was able to break through on offense and the bout moved to the third period tied 0-0. Rasheed chose neutral to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Rasheed countered a slight Wroblewski shot but could not finish off the move and continued to lead by one at the 1:00 mark. Rasheed continued to look for an opening and found it, countering a shot for a takedown and a 3-0 lead late in the period. Rasheed finished on top to open up his season with a 3-0 victory. 285: True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) made his Nittany Lion dual meet debut against Illinois heavyweight Luke Luffman. Nevills scored quickly, using a low shot to take Luffman down for an early 2-0 lead. Nevills then controlled the action on top and built up over 1:00 in riding time. Nevills continued to work on offense as the clock moved below the :50 mark. He finished the period on top and led 2-0 with 2:34 in riding time after the opening stanza. Nevills chose down to start the second period and quickly scrambled to an escape and a 3-0 lead. He then turned in on offense and went back to work on his feet. Nevills shot low from a standing position but Luffman countered for a late takedown to cut the Nevills lead to 3-2 after two periods. Luffman chose neutral to start the third period. He got in on a high shot but Nevills deftly used his strength to counter the move, work his way around the Illini and take a 5-2 lead with another takedown. Luffman notched a late escape but Nevills, with 3:04 in riding time, rolled to the 6-3 decision.

VESTAL, N.Y. -- With three seconds left in the match, sophomore Sam Wustefeld, at 197 pounds, took his shot and scored a big takedown to win his match and help propel Columbia Wrestling (1-1, 1-0 EIWA) to a 24-15 road win over Binghamton (2-2, 1-1 EIWA) in its Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association opener on Friday night at the Events Center in Vestal, New York. Along with Wustefeld, sophomore No. 29 Joe Manchio, first years Andrew Garr, Angelo Rini and Kyle Mosher, along with junior Riley Jacops, all collected wins to help the Lions complete the victory. For the Lions this snaps a three-match losing streak to Binghamton, with the last win coming in 2016 and this is the first win at Binghamton for Columbia since 2015. HOW IT HAPPENED: The match opened up at 149 pounds, were Garr set the tone for the night, coming out of the gate to take an 8-3 decision of Michael Zarif to put the Lions up 3-0. Garr controlled the action throughout, improving his 2019-20 dual match record to 2-0 and his overall record to 8-8. Columbia kept rolling, as at 157 pounds, Mosher found himself in a battle with Chris Barker, but piggybacking off of Garr's match, Mosher would get the 3-1 win on a takedown midway through the first sudden victory period. It was a solid takedown from Mosher that earned him the victory at a crucial point of the sudden victory period, and the win improved Mosher's overall record to 14-9 and it gave him his first career dual match win. At 165 pounds, Jacops would take the victory due to a medical forfeit but Binghamton and the win improved Jacops' record to 14-9, gave him his first dual match win of the season and put the score at 12-0 in Columbia's favor. The next two matches would go Binghamton's way, with first-year Lennox Wolak falling to Alex Melikian, dec. 9-5, at 174 pounds and sophomore Joe Franzese getting pinned at 1:20 by the No. 3 184-pounder in the nation Lou DePrez, putting the match score at 12-9 with Columbia still in the lead. The pair of Binghamton wins set up the big momentum swinging match at 197 pounds between Wustefeld and Sam DePrez. Throughout the match at 184 pounds, DePrez and Wustefeld were neck and neck, with DePrez holding a slight lead throughout the match. With the score at 3-2 in DePrez's favor and the clock ticking down in the third period, Wustefeld knew that he had to go, and go he went. As the clock ticked past three seconds, Wustefeld shot and completed a big-time takedown as the buzzer rang to give him a 4-3 decision, and it allowed the Lions to snag back the momentum as the score in the match now sat at 15-9 in Columbia's favor. With four matches remaining the Lions were in a solid position to add to their lead and pull away from Binghamton, Columbia would drop two of the final four, with sophomore Danny Conley falling at 285 to Joe Doyle (dec. 5-2) and junior Chris Scorese falling to Anthony Sparacio in a 9-3 decision in what was the final match of the night. But in-between those two matches the Lions would collect two more wins, including a pin, that would clinch the win for Columbia. At 125 pounds, Manchio came out of the gate on fire, taking a 10-0 lead through the first period. But late in the opening period, Manchio decided to end the action pinning Carson Sauriol at 2:41 to lock up six points for Columbia. Following Manchio was Rini, who at 133 pounds, fought hard in his match against Tomasso Frezza, earning a 4-3 decision. For Manchio the win improved his record to 16-4, and it was his fourth win by fall of the season, while for Rini the win bumped his record up to 13-7 and he earned his first career dual match win. When it was all said and done, the Lions had earned themselves a 24-15 win to put a one in the win column in the first EIWA match of the season. Results: 149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) def. Michael Zarif (Binghamton), dec. 8-3 157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Chris Barker (Binghamton), SV-1 3-1 165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) wins via medical forfeit 174 | Alex Melikian (Binghamton) def. Lennox Wolak (Columbia), dec. 9-5 184 | No. 3 Lou DePrez (Binghamton) def. Joe Franzese, fall (1:20) 197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) def. Sam DePrez (Binghamton), dec. 4-3 285 | Joe Doyle (Binghamton) def. Danny Conley (Columbia), dec. 5-2 125 | No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia) def. Carson Sauriol (Binghamton), fall (2:41) 133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) def. Tomasso Frezza (Binghamton), dec. 4-3 141 | Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton) def. Chris Scorese (Columbia), dec. 9-3 UP NEXT: Columbia remains on the road, with a quick turnaround as they next head north to Ithaca, New York to face No. 19 Cornell on Saturday, Jan. 11, with that match set to get going at 3 p.m. and it will be broadcast on ESPN+.

WASHINGTON -- With back-to-back wins in the first two bouts of the night, American University wrestling took a lead on Brown and never lost it, ultimately winning 18-16 in the first home dual meet of the season. The Eagles won in six weight classes overall, each by decision. MATCH NOTES Redshirt senior Sal Profaci set the tone with AU's biggest win of the night in the very first bout. Profaci scored four back points on his way to an 11-4 victory. Keeping it going in the next bout was AU's top-ranked wrestler, Kizhan Clarke (149) who scored a takedown in the second period and won 6-2. Tim Fitzpatrick edged his 165-pound opponent Kiran Srikanth in a low-scoring affair, 3-2. With an escape and a takedown in the third period, Tanner Harvey pulled away from Brandon Kui and won 4-1, giving AU some distance at 12-6 after bout number six. Niko Camacho (285) and Gage Curry (125) sealed the deal for the Eagles with wins of 7-2 and 3-0, respectively. AU now stands at 1-3 overall and 1-1 in EIWA matches, while Brown is 0-1 with the AU match being its first of the year. HEAD COACH TEAGUE MOORE "We had to get out there and put the work in today...last weekend we didn't feel like we really fought the fight. This whole week's practice was about being able to grind through a seven-minute match and I feel like we did that today. I was really happy with the way some of our guys went and scored offensive points. Niko Camacho did a really good job of getting after his opponent. Sal Profaci and Kizhan Clarke did as well...I'm happy for this win tonight." Results: 141 - #24 Sal Profaci (AU) dec. Jimmy Pawelski (Brown), 11-4 (AU 3-0) 149 - #9 Kizhan Clarke (AU) dec. Ricky Cabanillas (Brown), 6-2 (AU 6-0) 157 - Jack Bokina (Brown) dec. Elijah Murphy (AU), 6-0 (AU 6-3) 165 - Tim Fitzpatrick (AU) dec. Kiran Srikanth (Brown), 3-2 (AU 9-3) 174 - Bryce Rogers (Brown) dec. Ben Root (AU), 12-6 (AU 9-6) 184 - #11 Tanner Harvey (AU) dec. Brandon Kui (Brown), 4-1 (AU 12-6) 197 - Nino Bastianelli (Brown) tech. fall William Jarrell (AU), 23-8 (AU 12-11) 285 - Niko Camacho (AU) dec. James Valentino (Brown), 7-2 (AU 15-11) 125 - Gage Curry (AU) dec. Trey Keeley (Brown), 3-0 (AU 18-11) 133 - Charlie Faber (Brown) tech. fall Daniel Kidd (AU), 18-2 (18-16) UP NEXT AU will face Drexel at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11 for Alumni Day.

CHAPEL HILL -- No. 2 Austin O'Connor's first-period pin helped No. 17 North Carolina (8-1) defeat No. 12 Princeton (2-3), 25-11 at Carmichael Arena Friday. Clay Lautt boosted his dual-meet record to 8-0 with a win over Kevin Parker at 174 pounds. After Princeton took the dual's first bout at 197 pounds, Andrew Gunning emerged quick off the whistle and didn't look back for a 13-4 major decision over Aidan Conner. Princeton's No. 3 Patrick Glory won with a technical fall at 125 pounds, but Joey Melendez and Zach Sherman won back-to-back bouts to put Carolina ahead in the team score, an advantage the team would not lose. At 149 pounds, O'Connor wrestled No. 15 Mike D'Angelo in what was expected to be one of the tightest bouts of the evening. However, the Tar Heel standout quickly used a front headlock to score a takedown, work the score into turn and pin D'Angelo in 1:14. That gave UNC the 17-8 team score lead. Princeton's No. 5 Quincy Monday took the 157-pound bout over No. 20 A.C. Headlee, but the Tar Heels won three consecutive matches from 165 to 184 to finish the dual meet on top. No. 17 Kennedy Monday, Clay Lautt and Joey Mazzara all won, wrapping up a 25-11 team win in front of a crowd of 871 at Carmichael Arena. Carolina improves to 8-1 on the season and has a week off before wrestling No. 4 Virginia Tech on Friday, January 24 in Blacksburg. Results: 197: No. 3 Patrick Brucki (PU) dec. Brandon Whitman, 6-2 – Princeton leads, 3-0 285: Andrew Gunning (UNC) maj. dec. Aidan Conner (PU), 13-4 – UNC leads, 4-3 125: No. 3 Patrick Glory (PU) tech fall Timothy Decatur (UNC), 18-0 – Princeton leads, 8-4 133: Joey Melendez (UNC) dec. Ty Agaisse (PU), 4-3 – Princeton leads, 8-7 141: Zach Sherman (UNC) maj. dec. Marshall Keller (PU), 12-2 – UNC leads, 11-8 149: No. 2 Austin O'Connor (UNC) pinned No. 15 Mike D'Angelo (PU), 1:14 – UNC leads, 17-8 157: No. 5 Quincy Monday (PU) dec. No. 20 A.C. Headlee (UNC), 3-2 – UNC leads, 16-11* 165: No. 17 Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. Grant Cuomo (PU), 7-4 – UNC leads, 19-11 174: Clay Lautt (UNC) dec. Kevin Parker (PU), 5-2 – UNC leads, 22-11 184: Joey Mazzara (UNC) dec. Nate Dugan (PU), 7-5 – UNC leads, 25-11 *North Carolina was deducted one team point in the 157-pound match due to unsportsmanlike conduct

VESTAL, N.Y. -- In its first dual action of the new year, No. 14 Lehigh rolled to a 36-3 win over Binghamton Friday evening at Events Center. The Mountain Hawks dropped the opening bout, then rolled off nine consecutive victories. Lehigh wrestlers posted five bonus wins, including a first period pin by junior Brandon Paetzell, while junior Chris Weiler knocked off a top 10 opponent. The win, Lehigh's fourth straight, moves the Mountain Hawks to 5-3 overall and 1-1 against EIWA opponents. "We wrestled really well," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We're excited about the way we're competing right now. There are still some areas we have to improve on, but we're working on it. We've been focused. It has been a good month or so of training. We have a long way to go, with a big one tomorrow. Some big ones next week. We'll enjoy this tonight, but tomorrow it's right back to work." The dual started at 149 where sophomore JT Cooley made his dual debut, but came up on the short end of a 6-0 decision against Matt Swanson. From there, Lehigh dominated. Sophomore Josh Humphreys put Lehigh in front for good with an 8-0 decision over Chris Barker at 157. Humphreys scored takedowns in each period plus a second period escape and 3:34 of riding time advantage. A forfeit to freshman Brian Meyer at 165 extended Lehigh's lead to 10-3. Senior Jordan Kutler then followed with a 6-1 win over Alex Melikian at 174 to put the Mountain Hawks up 13-3. Weiler kept things rolling for the Mountain Hawks with an impressive 6-2 win over sixth-ranked Lou Deprez at 184. Coming off a Southern Scuffle title last week, Deprez opened the first period scoring with a takedown, but Weiler reversed late to tie the bout 2-2 after one. Weiler used a strong effort on top to ride out the second period. In the third Deprez conceded the go-ahead escape and then Weiler scored a counter takedown off a Deprez shot to go up 5-2. He rode out to add on the riding time point. Weiler's win avenged a loss to Deprez in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Southern Scuffle. "Chris' attitude going back all the way to the Oklahoma State match has just been different," Santoro said. "Sometimes, it takes a few weeks to kick in, but now he's just wrestling looser. He has taken the pressure off. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, just go out and perform. He's buying into himself and what he is capable of doing, because when Chris is wrestling to his ability, he's really hard to beat." Junior Jake Jakobsen followed with the second of three Lehigh major decisions on the night. After a scoreless first period, Jakobsen scored an escape, takedown and two point near fall to lead 5-0 after two, and added two more takedowns in the third plus a stalling point and a late four point near fall in what ended as a 15-1 major decision over Sam Deprez. At 285, junior Jordan Wood kept things rolling with a 6-3 decision over Joe Doyle. Paetzell picked up his second fall of the season at 125. He took down Carson Sauriol early and then used a trio of four point near falls to build a 14-0 lead before sticking Sauriol at 2:49 to put Lehigh up 29-3. Junior Nick Farro followed with a 15-5 major decision over Tomasso Frezza at 133, racking up six takedowns along the way. Sophomore Dan Moran got the nod at 141 to close the dual and out-scrambled Anthony Sparacio to win 9-6. Moran took a 2-0 lead with a takedown late in the first period and added a reversal and takedown in the second before closing out the match with a takedown in the third to secure Lehigh's ninth straight victory to close the dual. "Every coach in the country wants to see their guys score early and score late," Santoro said. "We've done a nice job with that. We just need to be consistent and continue to do those things throughout the remainder of the season. In just two months, we're getting ready for the NCAA Tournament. It goes quickly. As long as we keep improving and the guys stay focused we'll be all right." The Mountain Hawks wrap-up their New York trip on Saturday with a visit to longtime rival and 19th-ranked Cornell. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start from the Friedman Wrestling Center in Ithaca, N.Y. Video coverage will be available on ESPN+ (subscription required), while audio will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown as well as LVFoxSports.com. The 2019-20 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem. Results: 149 – Matt Swanson (BU) dec. JT Cooley (Lehigh) 6-0 157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) major dec. Chris Barker (BU) 8-0 165 – Brian Meyer (Lehigh) wins by forfeit 174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Alex Melikian (BU) 6-1 184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Lou Deprez (BU) 6-2 197 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) major dec. Sam Deprez (BU) 15-1 285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Joe Doyle (BU) 6-3 125 – Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) Fall Carson Sauriol (BU) 2:49 133 – Nick Farro (Lehigh) major dec. Tomasso Frezza (BU) 15-5 141 – Dan Moran (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Sparacio (BU) 9-6

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Clarion wrestling team finished their day in Virginia as the sole undefeated team, going 3-0 with victories over conference foe Cleveland State as well as VMI and Cal Baptist at the VMI Quad. The Golden Eagles (6-3, 3-2 MAC) have won six straight duals, including three straight victories over conference opponents. Clarion racked up bonus win after bonus win on Friday, recording six wins by fall, three technical falls and two major decisions out of 21 total bout victories. They also excelled in the clutch moments, with the Golden Eagles winning several matches but just a handful of points as well as two overtime decisions. Clarion 25, Cleveland State 15 125 - Jake Gromacki (Clarion) over Logan Heil (Cleveland State) (Fall 4:24) 133 - Seth Koleno (Clarion) over Justin Patrick (Cleveland State) (Dec 6-4) 141 - Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) over Alex Blake (Clarion) (Fall 4:21) 149 - Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over Gus Sutton (Cleveland State) (Fall 4:10) 157 - Avery Shay (Clarion) over Nico O`Dor (Cleveland State) (SV-1 4-2) 165 - Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) over Mike Bartolo (Clarion) (Dec 6-5) 174 - Chase Archangelo (Cleveland State) over Jack Peura (Clarion) (Dec 6-4) 184 - DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State) over Shae Bloom (Clarion) (Dec 15-8) 197 - Greg Bulsak (Clarion) over Benjamin Smith (Cleveland State) (MD 10-0) 285 - Ty Bagoly (Clarion) over John Kelbly (Cleveland State) (Dec 9-5) Recap: The bout that proved to be the toughest of the day was the first, as the Golden Eagles and Vikings went toe-to-toe in a difficult conference dual. Jake Gromacki and Brock Zacherl got things going with wins by fall at 125 and 149 pounds respectively, canceling out a pin by Evan Cheek at 141 pounds to put Clarion ahead 15-6 after four bouts. Avery Shay scored an important sudden victory decision over Nico O'Dor at 157 pounds, a victory that proved to be absolutely crucial as the Vikings won each of the next three bouts. Greg Bulsak officially clinched the dual in the 197 pound bout, beating Benjamin Smith by major decision, and Ty Bagoly continued his undefeated streak in MAC competition with a 9-5 decision over John Kelbly. Clarion 33, VMI 8 125 - Cameron Butler (Clarion) over John McGarry (VMI) (Dec 9-2) 133 - Seth Koleno (Clarion) over Cliff Conway (VMI) (Fall 4:27) 141 - Noah Roulo (VMI) over Alex Blake (Clarion) (Dec 6-0) 149 - Jalin Hankerson (Clarion) over Job Chishko (VMI) (Fall 2:15) 157 - Avery Shay (Clarion) over Will Lawrence (VMI) (Dec 8-4) 165 - Mike Bartolo (Clarion) over Jon Hoover (VMI) (Dec 4-0) 174 - Neal Richards (VMI) over Jack Peura (Clarion) (TF 27-11 6:10) 184 - Luke Funck (Clarion) over Max Gallahan (VMI) (TB-2 9-3) 197 - Greg Bulsak (Clarion) over Zach Brown (VMI) (Fall 2:26) 285 - Ty Bagoly (Clarion) over Chris Beck (VMI) (Dec 4-1) Recap: The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 9-0 advantage on the Keydets, with Cam Butler recording a decision over John McGarry and Seth Koleno pinning Cliff Conway in the 133 pound bout. Jalin Hankerson recorded the first of his two wins by fall of the day, pinning Job Chishko, and Luke Funck survived an overtime bout with Max Gallahan for his first win of the afternoon. Bulsak pinned Zach Brown, and Ty Bagoly finished off Chris Beck to finish off the victory. Clarion 30, Cal Baptist 10 125 - Cameron Butler (Clarion) over Keanu Perez (Cal Baptist) (Dec 3-2) 133 - Seth Koleno (Clarion) over Christian Nunez (Cal Baptist) (TF 18-2 4:26) 141 - Adam Velasquez (Cal Baptist) over Alex Blake (Clarion) (Dec 5-3) 149 - Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over A J Raya (Cal Baptist) (Dec 10-4) 157 - Jalin Hankerson (Clarion) over Zachary Rowe (Cal Baptist) (Fall 1:58) 165 - Mike Bartolo (Clarion) over Cole Pruit (Cal Baptist) (TF 17-2 3:50) 174 - Jacob Cooper (Cal Baptist) over Jack Peura (Clarion) (Dec 7-2) 184 - Luke Funck (Clarion) over Garrett Strang (Cal Baptist) (Dec 9-5) 197 - Greg Bulsak (Clarion) over Arick Lopez (Cal Baptist) (TF 20-4 4:16) 285 - Zach Schrader (Cal Baptist) over Brylee Shumaker (Clarion) (MD 14-5) Recap: Butler finished his 2-0 day with a 3-2 decision over Keanu Perez, and Koleno closed his 3-0 afternoon with a tech fall over Christian Nunez. Hankerson wrestled up one weight class and pinned Zachary Rowe with just over a minute remaining in the first period, followed by a tech fall from Mike Bartolo at 165 pounds. Funck won a decision over Garrett Strang, and Greg Bulsak posted his third bonus win of the day with a tech fall over Arick Lopez at 197 pounds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The monstrosity that is the NWCA's 92-team Mat Mayhem is halfway completed as six collegiate wrestling divisions will continue to battle for a national dual meet championship. Friday's action at the 2020 U.S. Marine Corps NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships presented by ARMS Software and Defense Soap hosted by NUWAY also saw some records being set at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. St. Cloud State's 30-4 opening-round win over Maryville set a new Division II dual meet win streak record as the Huskies won their 55th dual in a row. Meanwhile in the NAIA, Grand View extended its NAIA-record dual win streak with a pair of victories on Friday. The Vikings have won 83 duals in a row. Friday also saw the debut of two women's divisions, with the NCAA and NAIA each having their own dual championship Division II Men St. Cloud State (Minn.) continued its dominance in Division II as the Huskies won a pair of matches to extend their Division II-record dual meet win streak to 56 after the aforementioned opening round victory over Maryville and a 39-3 quarterfinal victory over Tiffin (Ohio). St. Cloud State will face another traditional Division II power, Central Oklahoma, in Saturday's semifinals. The Bronchos opened with a 28-7 win over Colorado School of Mines and followed with a 28-10 win over Notre Dame College (Ohio). No. 2 seed McKendree (Ill.) opened with a 34-6 win over UW-Parkside and then knocked off No. 7 Upper Iowa 20-13 in the quarterfinals. McKendree will face No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers opened with a 36-3 win over Bellarmine (Ky.) before upsetting third-seeded Pitt-Johnstown 24-16 after sweeping the final three weights to rally from a 16-12 deficit. Division III Men The top four seeds advanced to Saturday's semifinals, but not without a bit of late-match heroics. Top-seeded Augsburg (Minn.) advanced with wins over Olivet (Mich.) 43-3 and eighth-seeded Johnson & Wales (R.I.). The Auggies are looking for a third straight Division III National Duals crown. They'll face fourth-seeded Loras (Iowa), which reached the semifinals after a win over a pair of New York institutions. The Duhawks topped RIT 38-3 before besting NYU 21-12. On the bottom half of the bracket, Wartburg (Iowa) heavyweight Jordon Brandon scored a takedown as time expired to earn a major decision and give the Knights the extra bonus point win they needed to upend Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) 21-20. Wartburg only won four of the 10 bouts, but picked up two falls, a technical fall and a major decision to pick up a rare four-win dual victory. The Knights, 11-time winners of the event, will face No. 3 Wabash (Indiana) in Saturday's semifinals. Wabash topped Coe (Iowa) 20-16 as Wabash heavyweight Max Bishop iced the victory with a 11-4 win. Wabash opened with a 31-16 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater. One individual result of note came in a preliminary as returning Division III national champion John Boyle of Western New England (Mass.) was upset by Ithaca (N.Y.) 184-pounder Chibueze Chukwuezi 6-4 in sudden victory. NAIA Men Grand View (Iowa) moved closer to a ninth straight NAIA National Duals title after the Vikings topped Brewton-Parker (Ga.) and Providence (Mont.) to extend its win streak to 83 in a row. The streak is the second longest in college wrestling history behind SUNY-Dehli's 92 in a row between 1979-1983. Grand View will face fourth-seeded Baker (Kan.) in Saturday's semifinals. Baker opened with a 35-14 win over Lourdes (Ohio) before edging No. 5 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 22-20 in the quarterfinals. At the bottom half of the bracket, second-seeded Reinhardt (Ga.) has been impressive as the Eagles topped Midway (Ky.) 45-3 in the first round before topping Oklahoma City 24-12 in the quarterfinals. Reinhardt will face last year's runners-up and in-state rival Life (Ga.). Life beat the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 30-16 before topping third-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) 34-6. NCAA Women Three of the top four seeds advanced to Saturday's semifinals in the first NCAA Women's Division bracket. Prior to 2020, all women's teams competed in one Women's Division. The growth of women's wrestling teams in both the NCAA and NAIA provided the logical move to create separate National Duals championships for each women's division. In the NCAA Women's Division, top-seeded McKendree (Ill.), last year's Women's Division champions, topped Presbyterian (S.C.) 41-6 in the quarterfinals. The Bearcats will face fifth-seeded Colorado Mesa, which upended fourth-seeded Emmanuel (Ga.) in the quarterfinals 34-11. Colorado Mesa won eight of the 10 bouts to advance. In the bottom half of the bracket, the seeds held as past Women's Division champion Simon Fraser (B.C.) opened with a 38-8 win over Tiffin (Ohio) before dispatching with seventh-seeded Adrian (Mich.) 42-5. Simon Fraser will face third-seeded King (Tenn.). The Tornado, who won the Women's Division four times in a row from 2014-2017., opened with a 34-6 win over Schreiner (Texas) before topping Gannon (Pa.) 37-6. King defeated Simon Fraser to win the Women's Division in 2014. NAIA Women Three of the top four seeds moved into the semifinals of the NAIA Women's Division on Friday. Top-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) topped Lyon (Ark.) 39-7 in the quarterfinals to advance to face their Mid-South Conference rivals, the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.). Cumberlands advanced past No. 4 Wayland Baptist (Texas) on the strength of two falls, including the match winner at 191 where Angela Buenrrosto topped Katerina Pena to seal the dual for the Patriots. Second-seeded Life (Ga.) topped Providence (Mont.) 35-12 in the quarterfinals to advance to face third-seeded Menlo (Calif.). Menlo, last year's NAIA invitational and WCWA national champions, moved past Oklahoma City 33-10 to reach the semifinals. NJCAA Men Nassau Community College (N.Y.) will go for its third National Duals title on Saturday as the Lions reached the finals after wins over Joliet Junior College (Ill.) and Niagara County Community College (N.Y.). Coach Vougar Oroudjav's squad shut out Joliet 56-0 in the opening round with half of the wins coming by fall. In the semifinals, Nassau won seven of the ten bouts. They will face Rochester (Minn.). Coach Randy Rager's Yellowjackets opened with a 25-16 win over Rowan College of Gloucester County (N.J.). Gavin Christofferson, Richie Hammonds and John Noll swept the final three weights to rally Rochester to the victory. In the quarterfinals, Rochester won six of the ten bouts, but pulled away with four of the six wins coming by fall. Semifinal Times by Division Division II Men: 11 a.m. Division III Men: 11 a.m. NAIA Men: 11 a.m. NCAA Women: 9 a.m. NAIA Women: 10:30 a.m. Finals Times by Division Division II Men: 3 p.m. Division III Men: 3 p.m. NAIA Men: 3 p.m. NCAA Women: 3 p.m. NAIA Women: 3 p.m. NJCAA Men: 1 p.m. WHAT: 2020 U.S. Marine Corps NWCA Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships presented by ARMS Software and Defense Soap hosted by NUWAY WHERE: Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky WHEN: January 10-11, 2020 WATCH: Trackwrestling.com (PPV) RESULTS & BRACKETS: Men's Divisions | Women's Divisions

Girls wanting to wrestle in high school in the state of Wisconsin may soon have a division of their own, as a proposal is under development to create a separate girls division with opportunities to win a state title. An ad hoc committee comprised of coaches and administrators -- along with the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association (WWCA), and the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation -- are crafting a proposal that then would go to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), the Wisconsin State Journal of Madison reported Thursday. “Girls wrestling is taking off all over the country with nearly 20 states sanctioning a girls division,” according to Stoughton athletic director Mel Dow, a proponent of expanding wrestling opportunities for girls in Wisconsin. “The WWCA has a proposal nearly complete that will allow for girls to join their schools wrestling team, train and compete against comparable opponents throughout the season and then have the opportunity to compete for a state title like the boys have been afforded for decades. The current proposal does not impact the current structure of the boys individual state series and would provide for greater attendance at the WIAA team state event.” Right now, the proposal would add a separate, fourth division within the current wrestling season… provide an additional level for schools that offer wrestling (a new girls level to join existing varsity, varsity reserve, and junior varsity)… provide opportunity for females to compete for an individual state title… permit girls to practice with the existing team (without need to establish a separate program with its own coach)… and allow girls to choose to compete in regular-season events or girls-only events. According to the proposal as outlined in the Wisconsin State Journal article, girls would practice with the boys, teams could use the girls in regular-season duals and teams could use females during regional and team sectional events. A girl who qualifies for individual sectionals would have to choose between competing in the boys' sectional tournament or wrestling in the female state tournament. The number of high school girls participating in wrestling within the state of Wisconsin is growing quickly. According to statistics supplied by Stoughton's Dow, in 2018-19, 127 of 333 schools (38%) in Wisconsin had a female wrestler on the roster, with a total of 248 females who wrestled in the state last school year. So far in the 2019-20 school year, 143 of 336 schools (43%) have a female wrestler on the roster and 325 females have competed overall. Girls' wrestling also continues to see incredible growth beyond Wisconsin. Across the nation, this past school year, 4,562 more girls participated in high school wrestling than in the previous academic year -- a 27% increase in just one year. (21,124 girls wrestled in high school in the 2018-19 school year compared to 16,562 in 2017-18.) By InterMat's count, 20 states have already officially sanctioned girls' high school wrestling programs.

HAMPTON, Va. -- The second-seeded Rider University wrestling team earned bonus points in eight of its nine victories to dominate Duke, 47-3, at the Virginia Duals Friday morning. With the win, the Broncs advance to the semifinals, where they'll take on Maryland tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The Terrapins knocked off third-seeded Fresno State, 22-18. The Broncs started the match with six points in hand with a forfeit at 125, before Richie Koehler (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) and Peter Lipari (Byram Township, NJ/Bergen Catholic [Rutgers]) won the next to bouts by fall at 133 and 141, respectively, to give Rider an 18-0 lead. Duke got its lone victory by decision in sudden victory at 149, before Rider won the final six. George Walton (Franklin, NJ/Bound Brook) won by fall at 184, Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) and Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) won major decisions, Dean Sherry (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) earned a decision, Joe Casey (Bridgewater, NJ/Bound Brook) took six points following a first-period injury at 165 and the Blue Devils forfeited at 285. Notes - The lone opening-round upset came with Maryland taking down Fresno State. Top-seeded Virginia, the second-seeded Broncs and fourth-seeded Old Dominion each advanced. - The winner of tomorrow's dual between Rider and Maryland will take on the winner of the Virginia/Old Dominion dual at 8:30 p.m. - The losing team between Rider and Maryland will head to the consolation bracket to face the winner of today's Kent State/Penn match. - Dellavecchia picked up his team-leading 18th win of the year, while Laird now has 16 and Walton has 15. Results: 125: Jonathan Tropea (RID) by forfeit; Rider leads, 6-0 133: Richie Koehler (RID) WBF Harrison Campbell (DUKE), 6:15; Rider leads, 12-0 141: Peter Lipari (RID) WBF Ty Mill, 1:18; Rider leads, 18-0 149: Wade Unger (DUKE) dec. Gino Fluri (RID), 8-6 (SV); Rider leads, 18-3 157: Jesse Dellavecchia (RID) maj. dec. Eric Carter, 9-1; Rider leads, 22-3 165: Joe Casey (RID) vs. Ben Anderson (DUKE), Inj.; Rider leads, 28-3 174: Dean Sherry (RID) dec. Mason Eaglin (DUKE), 7-4; Rider leads, 31-3 184: George Walton (RID) WBF Kai Blake (DUKE), 1:23; Rider leads, 37-3 197: Ethan Laird (RID) maj. dec. Vincent Baker (DUKE), 15-5; Rider leads, 41-3 285: Ryan Cloud (RID) by forfeit; Rider wins, 47-3

HAMPTON, Va. -- The University of Maryland wrestling team got wins from Brandon Cray, King Sandoval, Jahi Jones, Kyle Cochran, and Jaron Smith en route to the team's second win of the season, downing Fresno State 22-18 in the first contest of the Virginia Duals. Maryland now advances to the semifinal where it will face Rider on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Rider, the tournament's No. 2 seed, is coming off a dominant 47-3 win over Duke in the quarterfinals. Now only six duals into the season, Maryland has matched last season's win total. The Terps got off to a fast start in the dual, winning the first two matches by way of bonus points. 125-pounder Brandon Cray started it off with a 9-0 major decision, his first dual win of the season and also his first major decision of his redshirt junior campaign. Redshirt freshman King Sandoval followed it up with a bonus-point victory of his own, pinning the Bulldogs' Gary Joint in the first period. Sandoval's pin was the first of his career in dual action. The pin leader from last year's roster hit his signature cement mixer to get Joint on his back before the fall was ultimately called at 2:01. Fresno State's DJ Lloren earned a 7-1 decision over Hunter Baxter at 141 pounds, cutting the deficit down to seven, and Greg Gaxiola – ranked 32nd in the nation via TrackWrestling – won the second consecutive bout for the Bulldogs via a 6-1 decision over Michael Doetsch, to bring the match within four points at 10-6. Jahi Jones won his third-consecutive dual meet at 157 pounds, taking down Beau Colombini via a 3-2 decision that came down to a coaches' challenge video review in the final seconds of the third period. Jones – who ranks 24th in the country per FloWrestling – improves to 10-2 on the season and has now won three straight dual matches for the first time in his career. Kyle Cochran followed Jones up with another victory for the Terps, earning a 9-4 decision over Ricky Padilla at 165 pounds. Cochran improves to 6-3 on the season after winning his third dual victory of his redshirt sophomore campaign. Philip Spadafora suffered his third straight loss in dual competition, dropping a 7-5 decision to Brandon Martino, who pulled ahead late in the third period with a takedown. Kyle Jasenski dropped his bout at 184 pounds via a 4-1 decision to Hunter Cruz. Jasenski moves to 7-6 on the season. Jaron Smith clinched the dual victory for the Terps, earning six points for Maryand after Ryan Reyes injury defaulted late in the first period on a Smith takedown attempt. Smith – who ranks 25th in the NCAA per FloWrestling – has won four consecutive dual meets and improves to 7-2 on the season. Smith's four consecutive dual wins is the best streak of his career. Parker Robinson closed out the dual for Maryland, ultimately suffering a pin to No. 14 Josh Hokit. Saturday, Maryland will face Rider in the tournament semifinals. Rider improved to 4-2 on the season with Friday's win over Duke. Last season, Maryland defeated Rider 22-16 to close out the regular season. Maryland will also close the 2019-20 regular season with a home dual vs. the Broncs. Results: 125 | Brandon Cray (UMD) major dec. Destin Summers (FSU), 9-0 (4-0) 133 | King Sandoval (UMD) fall over Gary Joint (FSU), 2:01 (10-0) 141 | DJ Lloren (FSU) dec. Hunter Baxter (UMD), 7-1 (10-3) 149 | Greg Gaxiola (FSU) dec. Michael Doetsch (UMD), 6-1 (10-6) 157 | Jahi Jones (UMD) dec. Beau Colombini (FSU), 3-2 (13-6) 165 | Kyle Cochran (UMD) dec. Ricky Padilla (FSU), 9-4 (16-6) 174 | Brandon Martino (FSU) dec. Philip Spadafora (UMD), 7-5 (16-9) 184 | Hunter Cruz (FSU) dec. Kyle Jasenski (UMD), 4-1 (16-12) 197 | Jaron Smith (UMD) injury def. Ryan Reyes (FSU), 5:06 (22-12) 285 | No. 14 Josh Hokit (FSU) fall over Parker Robinson (UMD), 6:26 (22-18)

HAMPTON, Va. -- The Old Dominion wrestling team (2-5, 1-1 MAC) earned an 18-13 victory over Penn (0-2, 0-0 EIWA) in its first match of the 40th Annual Virginia Duals on Friday at the Hampton Coliseum. "We won the tight matches and that shows toughness, which is important," head coach Steve Martin said after the match. "when you start winning the close matches, that's always good." One of the more important matches of the dual came at 157 pounds, when No. 13 in Intermat's rankings Larry Early took on No. 13 in FloWrestling's rankings Anthony Artalona. Early managed to earn the 9-4 win by decision over the top-15 wrestler to give ODU the its first lead of the dual, 9-7. "I thought the highlight of the match was when Early took out the 13th-ranked wrestler in the country," Martin said of his All-American's performance. "It was a pretty decisive match, which is good for him." Prior to Early's ranked victory, senior Kenan Carter won a tight 2-0 decision over Penn's Lucas Revano, his 10thwin of the season. There were two bouts that needed extra time, both of which that the Monarchs came out victorious in. At 133 pounds, Shannon Hanna II and Carmen Ferrante both ended the three periods with one point apiece. In the extra frame, Hanna managed to take down his opponent to earn a 3-1 win by decision in the sudden victory period. After a 6-5 come from behind win by decision for freshman Alex Cramer over Neil Antrassian at 174 pounds, Antonio Agee and Jesse Quatse would hit the mats in the 184-pound bout. Agee and Quatse also finished their three periods with a 1-1 tie, and neither combatant earned a takedown in the sudden victory round, so the bout had to be settled after two 30-second periods. Agee earned the only point in the two periods, earning the hard-fought 2-1 decision in TB-1. Agee's victory gave ODU some breathing room, as it increased the Monarch lead to 15-10 with two bouts left. At 197 pounds, senior Timothy Young managed to earn a takedown in the third period of his bout against Cole Urbas to take a 2-1 win by decision. The Young victory gave the Monarchs an 18-10 lead, clinching the match for ODU with one bout remaining. At 125 pounds, No. 15 Killian Cardinale faced off against a top-10 wrestler in the country in No. 9 Michael Colaiocco. At the time, Colaiocco put the Quakers up 4-0 after earning the 13-5 win by major decision over Cardinale. It would prove to be the only bonus points earned in the dual. Sa'Derian Perry also took on a ranked wrestler in No. 22 Doug Zapf in the 141-pound bout. Zapf managed to earn the upset 6-1 win by decision victory over the top-15 Monarch to give the Quakers a four-point advantage over ODU at the time. With the victory locked in after the 197-pound bout, Jacob Bullock took the mat at 285 pounds, facing Ben Goldin in the dual's final match. Bullock led after two periods, but Goldin got the better of the Monarch freshman in the third period to earn a 7-5 win by decision, bringing the final score to 18-13. Up Next With their victory over Penn, the Monarchs move on to face No. 22 Virginia tomorrow, January 11, at 2 p.m. at the Hampton Coliseum. UVA won their first-round dual against Kent State, 23-12. The winner of tomorrow's dual will take on the winner of the Rider vs. Maryland dual on the other side of the bracket in the championship bout. "We're excited to face Virginia, we haven't faced them in a couple of years," Martin said looking ahead to tomorrow's competition. "We're looking forward to that opportunity. They're in the top-20 in most of the polls, and we try to make our schedule as tough as possible so we have opportunities to challenge ourselves and to knock off some teams." Results: 125 - #9 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) MD over #15 Kilian Cardinale (ODU) 13-5 133 - Shannon Hanna II (ODU) dec. over Carmen Ferrante (Penn) 3-1 (SV-1) 141 - #22 Doug Zapf (Penn) dec. over #11 Sa`Derian Perry (ODU) 6-1 149 - Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over Lucas Revano (Penn) Dec 2-0 157 - Larry Early (ODU) dec. over Anthony Artalona (Penn) Dec 9-4 165 - Jacob Lizak (Penn) dec. over Shane Jones (ODU Dec 3-2 174 - Alex Cramer (ODU) dec. over Neil Antrassian (Penn) Dec 6-5 184 - Antonio Agee (ODU) dec. over Jesse Quatse (Penn) 2-1 (TB-1) 197 - Timothy Young (ODU) dec. over Cole Urbas (Penn) 2-1 285 - Ben Goldin (Penn) dec. over Jacob Bullock (ODU) 7-5

HAMPTON, Va. -- The No. 22 Virginia wrestling team (4-1) opened the Virginia Duals with a strong performance on Friday (Jan. 10), taking a 23-12 victory over Kent State (3-6) in the first-round of the annual event at the Hampton Coliseum. Virginia, the top-seeded team in the event, will return to action in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 11) against fourth-seeded Old Dominion (2-5). Old Dominion advanced with an 18-13 win over the Penn Quakers on Friday. The Cavaliers won six of the 10 weight classes, including bonus-point wins from Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) at 157 pounds and Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.) at heavyweight. Patrick McCormick (Poquoson, Va.), Brian Courtney (Sayre, Pa.), Sam Martino (Colonial Heights, Va.) and Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) all won by decision on the way to the Virginia victory. "That was a close call and our guys had to find a way to pull that one out," said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. "A big shout out to Patrick McCormick, Brian Courtney, Justin McCoy, Sam Martino and Jay Aiello. Gritty wins are what seal dual meets and we won because of them. I'm happy for Quinn (Miller) and the way he got to end the match for us as well. He needed that. Now we have to get ready for a fight tomorrow against Old Dominion. They are a really talented team that likes to scrap." The match started with the teams trading bouts as McCormick and Courtney each picked up decisions at 125 pounds and 141 pounds, respectively, for the Cavaliers. McCormick got off to a quick start and held on for the 5-4 decision over Tomas Gutierrez at 125 pounds, while Courtney rallied with a third-period takedown on the way to a 6-5 decision over Corey Simpson. The overall dual score sat tied at six points for each side after the first four weight classes. McCoy gave the Cavaliers the first big push with his win at 157 pounds, using a flurry of scoring to grab a 20-5 tech fall over Brady Chisman and push Virginia out to a five-point lead in the overall dual score. Martino then followed it up with a 5-3 decision as he used a third-period takedown and the riding time point to secure a 5-3 decision over Kade Byland. Kent State would win the next two weight classes, taking a pair of decisions at 174 and 184 pounds to cut the overall lead to two points before Aiello and Miller would lock up the victory. Aiello rallied to take a 5-4 lead on Colin McCracken before riding out the entire third period to lock up a 6-4 decision over the Flash wrestler at 197 pounds. Heavyweight Miller then clinched the match with a pin of Spencer Berthold, surging to a 4-0 lead after the first period before locking up the pin at the 3:27 mark. Results: 125: Patrick McCormick dec. Tomas Gutierrez (KSU), 5-4 – UVA 3, KSU 0 133: Tim Rooney (KSU) dec. No. 18 Louie Hayes, 3-1 – UVA 3, KSU 3 141: Brian Courtney dec. Corey Simpson (KSU), 6-5 – UVA 6, KSU 3 149: Kody Komara (KSU) dec. Denton Spencer, 7-2 – UVA 6, KSU 6 157: Justin McCoy tech fall Brady Chrisman (KSU), 20-5 (7:00) – UVA 11, KSU 6 165: Sam Martino vs. Kade Byland (KSU), 5-3 – UVA 14, KSU 6 174: Andrew McNally (KSU) dec. Victor Marcelli, 10-6 – UVA 14, KSU 9 184: Lane Hinkle (KSU) dec. Michael Battista, 4-0 – UVA 14, KSU 12 197: No. 9 Jay Aiello dec. Colin McCracken (KSU), 6-4 – UVA 17, KSU 12 HWT: Quinn Miller pinned Spencer Berthold (KSU), 3:27 – UVA 23, KSU 12

The No. 1-ranked St. Cloud State University wrestling team (7-0, 2-0 NSIC) broke its own NCAA Division II record for consecutive dual wins on Friday, Jan. 10 with a solid 30-4 decision over Maryville University. The match was SCSU's first match of the day at the 2020 NWCA Division II National Duals tournament, which is being held this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. The victory was SCSU's 55th consecutive win, which breaks the old NCAA DII record of 54 consecutive wins set by the Huskies from Jan. 30, 2011 to Jan. 12, 2014. SCSU's current win streak dates back to a 22-17 loss to Indianapolis on Jan. 14, 2017. Since that time, SCSU has charted two consecutive undefeated seasons under the leadership of head coach Steve Costanzo, and the Huskies currently own a 7-0 record in 2019-20. St. Cloud State will now advance in the NWCA Duals bracket with a quarterfinal showdown against No. 7 ranked Tiffin University on Friday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. (CT) on Freedom Hall's Mat 7 in Louisville, Kentucky. In the match against Maryville, SCSU trailed 4-0 after a major decision loss at 125-pounds. That set proved to be the lone loss for the Huskies as they reeled off nine consecutive wins to gain the 30-4 triumph. At 133 pounds, No. 2 ranked Garrett Vos opened the run with an 8-2 win over Maryville's Alex Waggoner. At 141-pounds, SCSU's Joey Biachini posted an 11-3 major decision to give SCSU its first lead at 7-4. At 149 pounds, No. 2 James Pleski battled back to earn a 4-3 decision over Maryville's Tyler Stegall and then No. 1 ranked Jake Barzowski scored a 9-6 decision over Maryville's Tanner Sparks at 157 pounds. The wins continued with a big 9-6 decision tally by No. 3 Devin FitzPatrick over Maryville's No. 9 ranked Tyler Harrington at 165 pounds. At 174-pounds, SCSU's No. 2 Kolton Eischens added bonus points with a 13-4 major decision win over Maryville's Matt Pratt. The dual ward clinched at 184 pounds as Billy Pitzner posted a 7-4 win over MU's Bailey Kelly to give the Huskies a 24-4 lead. To ice the result, SCSU's No. 12 Noah Ryan scored an 8-3 win at 197-pounds and No. 9 ranked Ezayah Oropeza posted a 5-0 win at 285 pounds to make the final 30-4. The complete match results are listed below. Fans can follow all the action this weekend in Louisville on Trackwrestling.com Results: 125 Tyler Kreith (Maryville) over Robby Horsman (St. Cloud State) Maj 10-1 133 Garrett Vos (St. Cloud State) over Alex Waggoner (Maryville) Dec 8-2 141 Joey Bianchini (St. Cloud State) over Tristan Barr (Maryville) Maj 11-3 149 James Pleski (St. Cloud State) over Tyler Stegall (Maryville) Dec 4-3 157 Jake Barzowski (St. Cloud State) over Tanner Sparks (Maryville) Dec 9-6 165 Devin Fitzpatrick (St. Cloud State) over Tyler Harrington (Maryville) Maj 13-4 174 Kolton Eischens (St. Cloud State) over Matt Pratt (Maryville) Maj 13-0 184 Billy Pitzner (St. Cloud State) over Bailey Kelly (Maryville) Dec 7-4 197 Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) over John Anderson (Maryville) Dec 8-3 285 Ezayah Oropeza (St. Cloud State) over Logan Radik (Maryville) Dec 5-0

HIRAM, Ohio -- Hiram College Athletic Director Todd W. Hibbs announced on Friday the addition of men's and women's wrestling programs as the Terriers' 17th and 18th varsity sports. "Men's and women's wrestling are strategic additions as we continue to grow the Hiram College athletic department," Hibbs said. "Similar to recent additions of men's volleyball and women's cheer and STUNT, we expect these programs to have an immediate impact on our campus." A search for a head men's wrestling coach and director of wrestling operations will begin immediately, with men's wrestling expected to begin competition in the 2020-21 season. A search for a head women's wrestling coach will begin no later than the fall of 2020 with the program expected to begin competing in 2021-22. The addition of men's wrestling re-establishes a program that competed from 1954 to 1971 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and from 1972 to 1987 in the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC). Over 33-years, 10 Terriers earned All-America honors, and 25 former wrestlers have since been inducted into the William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame. During their 17-year history in the OAC, 29 Terriers earned conference championships, 40 were named All-OAC and the Terriers won six OAC Tournaments. And in their 16 years in the PAC, 31 Terriers earned conference championships and five were named the PAC's Most-Outstanding Wrestler. "We will need assistance from our proud alumni base to ensure a quick rise to excellence for these programs," Hibbs said. "A high standard in collegiate wrestling was established under previous coaches and administrations, and we fully expect to rise to that level in each of these programs. I encourage anyone in the wrestling community who wants to be supportive to reach out to us." The Terriers will join 114 other men's wrestling programs competing at the NCAA Division III level in the 2020-21 season, including 18 in the Ohio, Michigan and Indiana area and two within the North Coast Athletic Conference, while the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics recently "recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add women's wrestling as an NCAA emerging sport, effective August 1, 2020." Men's and women's wrestling are the first sports added by Hiram College since Cheer & STUNT and men's volleyball were added in 2017. With the addition of men's and women's wrestling, the Terriers will have more than 350 athletes competing across 18 varsity programs at the NCAA Division III level. Those interested in helping support the addition of men's and women's wrestling programs can reach out to Todd Hibbs at (330) 569-5340 or via email at hibbstw@hiram.edu.

Blair Academy coach Brian Antonelli congratulates Rylan Rogers after winning the Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) No. 2 in the country Blair Academy (N.J.) is hosting a multi-team dual meet event on Saturday starting at 12 Noon Eastern Time. Even though No. 9 Malvern Prep (Pa.) recently pulled out of the event, there are still four nationally ranked teams present among the five schools competing. Over the course of the four rounds of wrestling, there will be four matches placing nationally ranked teams against one another. Below is the schedule of matches: Round 1: No. 2 Blair Academy vs. Belmont Hill (Mass.), No. 40 Baylor School (Tenn.) vs. No. 34 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.) Round 2: No. 2 Blair Academy vs. No. 11 Delbarton (N.J.), No. 40 Baylor School vs. Belmont Hill Round 3: No. 2 Blair Academy vs. No. 34 St. Joseph Montvale, No. 40 Baylor School vs. No. 11 Delbarton Round 4: No. 34 St. Joseph Montvale vs. Belmont Hill Here is a possible projected lineup for each of the participating teams No. 2 Blair Academy (N.J.) 106: No. 1 Marc-Anthony McGowan 113: Mason Stefanelli 120: No. 12 Ryan Miller 126: Daniel Wask or (if back from injury) Trevor Mastrogiovanni 132: Louis Colaiocco or (if back from injury) Shayne van Ness 138: No. 14 Lucas Chittum 145: Lorenzo Norman 152: TBD or No. 3 Travis Mastrogiovanni 160: Thomas Stewart 170: Oliver Tipton or No. 8 Domonic Mata 182: No. 8 Rylan Rogers 195: No. 9 Peyton Craft 220: No. 12 Noah Pettigrew 285: Elijah Anthony No. 11 Delbarton (N.J.) 106: No. 12 Tyler Vazquez 113: Joseph Davi or Thomas Fischer 120: Cross Wasilewski 126: No. 12 Nico Nardone 132: No. 4 Anthony Clark or Jack Napeloni 138: Simon Ruiz or Henry Forte 145: Andrew Troczynski 152: Colin Calvetti 160: Kieran Calvetti or Jack Sharma 170: Dante Stefanelli 182: Nicholas Olivieri 195: No. 17 Luke Chakonis 220: P.J. Casale 285: TBD or Liam Garay No. 34 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.) 106: Josh Iannone 113: Joe Manno 120: No. 8 Alex Almeyda 126: Mateo Sgambellone 132: Justin Bierdumpfel 138: Michael Setta 145: Michael Dellagata 152: Stefano Sgambellone 160: Jean Carlos San Juan 170: A.J. Friccione 182: Jack Farinaro 195: Scott Schlett or Benjamin Pichardo 220: Michael Toranzo 285: Jim Mullen No. 40 Baylor School (Tenn.) 106: Nick Corday 113: Jackson Bond 120: Kade Hartine 126: Micah Tisdale or Jake Weekley 132: Noah Horst 138: Garrison Dendy 145: Alexander Moyer or Chase Radpour 152: Anthony Mannella or Bryce Waldrep 160: Omaury Alvarez 170: Porter Faulk or Gunner Garrigues 182: Connor Duffy 195: No. 15 David Harper 220: Barrett Chambers 285: Sam Christensen or Matthew Smith Belmont Hill (Mass.) 106: Freddie Pimental 113: Hamza Shemsu 120: Alex Gavronsky 126: Jimmy Harrington 132: TBD 138: Daniel Bittner 145: Kailen Richards 152: Jason Wolf 160: Jack Weldon 170: Joshua Houston-Davis 182: Harrison Shapiro 195: TBD 220: Tim Brown 285: TBD

Penn State announced this week that returning NCAA champion Anthony Cassar and All-American transfer Kyle Conel would be out for the remainder of the season. The announcement comes two weeks after Aaron Brooks had his redshirt pulled at 184 pounds and Shakur Rasheed was bumped to 197 pounds. The school also announced it would be bring Seth Nevills out of redshirt to fill in for Cassar. For Penn State wrestling fans the news creates a somewhat bleak outlook for winning the NCAA title in 2020. The Cassar points will be sorely missed, but you can't write off the Nittany Lions entirely since they are replacing outgoing wrestlers with proven five-star recruits. Still, the simple math seems to heavily favor Iowa at the NCAA tournament and only an injury bug is likely to change that calculus. The announcement and subsequent realization that Penn State's title chances are diminishing highlights just how incredible it is for a program to remain dominant for so long. The recruiting is unimpeachable, the development is mind-boggling, and the motivation given to the athletes to perform is obvious. Penn State's dynasty is not going extinct if they team earn second or third place at NCAAs, it's just regrouping -- possibly for another 10-15 years on top. But for now its Iowa's NCAA championship to lose. Can they perform? Will everyone on their roster stay healthy? Can Penn State make up the mileage and surprise everyone in Minneapolis? I'm not sure about you, but I welcome these new questions and the uncertainty of it all will add to the storylines come March and hopefully produce some great viewership and engagement numbers for the NCAA and their partners (which would reflect well on wrestling's future). To your questions … David Taylor battles Drew Foster at Beat The Streets (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: I have seen nothing on David Taylor. What is the story with David Taylor's recovery? Is he doing well enough that we'll see him in competition for the Olympics? -- Rich I. Foley: David is all over social media. You should follow along! Yes, he recently said that he was "back" and I'm guessing you'll see him compete at the Pan American Qualifier this March in Ottawa. As for his chances to compete at the Olympic Games, that will depend on his ability to fend off a new crop of 86-kilogram wrestlers at the Trials, which may or may not include J'den Cox. Most of the Olympic Team Trials spots are locked and we saw some great matchups. Have you heard any plans for getting more of our weights qualified? Suggestions or recommendations? -- @pbr54321 Foley: The process for the United States to earn additional Olympic qualification allocations for Tokyo 2020 is straightforward. There are 16 tickets per weight category with the first six earned by the top six placewinners at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan. The next eight are evenly divided among four continental tournaments and their finalists: Europeans (2), Asians (2), Pan Ams (2) and Africa/Oceania (2). The final two tickets are earned by weight category finalists at the Last Chance Qualifier held April 30-May 3 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Note that any nation who has qualified their weight category for Tokyo may not enter a subsequent qualification tournament. Currently the United States has qualified four weight categories across three styles. Freestyle: 74 kilograms, 97 kilograms Women's wrestling: 68 kilograms, 76 kilograms Greco-Roman: None The next opportunity for the team to qualify a weight will be the Pan American Qualifier in Ottawa in mid-March. Team USA is scheduled to send their 2019 World Championship squad, with the notable exception of David Taylor, a 2018 world champion who was out in 2019 due to injury. He has the right of first refusal on qualification. I'd also assume some other changes may occur before March 1. In freestyle there are no easy weights to qualify. Cuba is bringing Reineri Andreu Ortega (57 kilograms), Alejandro Valdes Tobier (65 kilograms), Yurieski Torreblanca (86 kilograms) and Oscar Pino Hinds (125 kilograms). And you'll also have Puerto Rico with Sebastian Rivera (57 kilograms) and Franklin Gomez (74 kilograms), Venezuela with Pedro Ceballos (86 kilograms), Luis Urbaneja (125 kilograms) and Canada with Korey Jarvis at 125 kilograms. The women's picture is a little clearer. Most of the top women who have yet to qualify are sitting in the driver's seat of the qualification process. The Canadian women and some unknowns from Cuba could disrupt a few weights along with upstarts from Ecuador. Greco-Roman has an excellent chance to qualify across the board so long as they are opposite the Cubans. Thankfully they have already qualified at 67 kilograms and 130 kilograms, leaving at least two Cuban-free weights. Q: Hope you're having a great start to 2020 and that the holiday season treated you and yours well! First, I sprung for Platinum. I love the site, and continuing to read up on wrestling, even as my career gets ever farther in the rear view, it's a fun way to stay connected. My dad, brother, and I are planning to attend Big Tens at Rutgers which should be fun. Secondly, I have a thought on riding time. In the past I've been a proponent of it, as I think in theory the rule rewards excellence in one of three situational positions that folkstyle wrestling puts athletes in. Unfortunately, it's clear the letter of the rule versus the spirit of it is now what's being adhered to. Creating the "buck'em bronco" situation you accurately described. As such it's clear that the intent of trying to incentivize pursuit of turns and pins isn't working. So the riding point should be eliminated. I also think that the 4-point nearfall should be eliminated and revert to two or three-point nearfall. Instead of those two "bonus point" scenarios perhaps the wrestler with the most exposure points at the end of the match gets a one-point bonus? This way the bonus point is actually connected to the direct action that you're looking to incentivize. It seems the issue with a riding point is that it assumes that time spent on top = higher likelihood of turns/pins which has not borne out. -- Jon G. Foley: One-hundred percent agreement. There are as many falls in freestyle as there are in folkstyle and there is almost no par terre. Most of the falls in freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman come from transitional positions where more can happen in returning to the mat. I also agree that four points is stupid. Really, really dumb. The extra points have only helped to slow down the pace of the matches once someone finds a turn. Again, freestyle got rid of the extra point for holding your opponent in position because it didn't show much in the way of additional dominance. Why should a cheap tilt be worth four points but a throw without control is nada? MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Who's ready for Bajrang vs. Oliver?! Best moves of 2019 Q: Do you have any insight on the location or timing for U23 Asian Championships? I noticed last year's in Mongolia may have been the first one. It seems like UWW (or someone) is putting a larger emphasis on this age category (whether we're calling it U23 or University). Is this the case? The U23 scene seems to be growing in the quality of the World Championships and in the slight increase in the number of international tournaments offering the age group. -- Jason W. Foley: Much more emphasis on the development of age class competitions. When wrestlers win a world or continental title they are often rewarded with funds for training by their local and national governments. That's a powerful incentive for UWW to help the IF's as they search for funding to keep the lights on. The calendar for the U23's comes together a little later each year, because there is no legacy to the event. Also, because it's an Olympic year that age category gets thinned out a bit as everyone is trying to make their nation's Olympic team and pushes back on attending other tournaments. Check back in a month or two and I think the U23 calendar will have more information. Q: After being somewhat dormant for a number of years the ACC Conference is looking like a power conference with three teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. To what do you attribute this resurgence as of late? Who's your pick win the ACC tournament and who do you think will have highest finish at NCAAs? -- Don C. Foley: The ACC has been competing well over the past several years, but I agree that the concentration of programs in the top ten is a next level for the conference. The NC State and UNC programs of the 80's and 90's would work their way into the top ten often, but I can't think of a time in which three programs from the ACC were all in the top ten. There has been a dramatic shift in conference power over the past 15 years, much of which can be credited to the elimination of historical data to allocate NCAA allotments for conferences. The RPI system is a much better indication of who is performing well throughout the year and gave coaches and athletes the confidence to try and build programs outside of the traditional powerhouse conferences of the Big 12 and Big Ten. Q: With Anthony Cassar out for the season, do you think Gable Steveson as a surefire national champion? Or could he be challenged by Mason Parris, Tony Cassioppi, Seth Nevills or someone else? -- Mike C. Foley: Big loss for Penn State. If I'm Cassar I go ahead and start training MMA. No reason to keep competing at the college level. Gable wins it walking away. I thought Cassioppi could challenge, but after seeing him compete more I'm just not sure he has the firepower to stay with Steveson. The rest of the crew, including the new Penn State heavyweight Seth Nevills face a similar battle. Steveson has the size, stamina, and technique of a great heavyweight but is complimented by athleticism and a school that loves to win NCAA heavyweight titles. Q: Looks like the Matteo Pellicone International in Rome, Italy, is loaded with talent. What are you most looking forward to seeing at the event? -- Mike C. Foley: The tournament is loaded! Women's wrestling has two Olympic champions and seven world champions, while freestyle could feature previous world champions Kyle Dake vs. Frank Chamizo competing at 74 kilograms and a rematch of the Dan Kolov final from last year with Jordan Oliver facing world bronze medalist Bajrang Punia at 65 kilograms. Going to be a perfect weekend of wrestling. Very much looking forward to seeing which wrestlers surprise us at 57 kilograms too.

OREM, Utah -- No. 11 Iowa State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) put on a pinning clinic against Utah Valley (1-6, 0-4 Big 12), routing the Wolverines by a final score of 45-0. The Cyclones locked up five falls in the dual, including four in the first period. Joel Shapiro, Alex Mackall, Ian Parker, Ryan Leisure and David Carr made up the five ISU grapplers to secure six team points in the contest. How It Happened Shapiro got things going against Utah Valley's No. 17 Tanner Orndorff. Shapiro wasted no time, securing the first takedown of the match. Orndorff got to his feet and fired off an attack of his own. Shapiro countered perfectly and brought Orndorff's shoulders to the mat in 2:12. No. 10 Gannon Gremmel took on Chase Trussell at heavyweight. Gremmel scored a takedown late in the third to outlast Trussell, 3-2. At 125 pounds, No. 9 Mackall fell into a 6-1 hole against Will Edelblute. Edelblute scored on two takedowns and turned Mackall for a two count on the second takedown. Mackall reversed Edelblute to make the match 6-3 and then went to work on top. He was able to earn the fall over Edelblute in 2:55. The 133-pound match was a barnburner between No. 21 Todd Small and No. 17 Taylor LaMont. The two combined for eight takedowns in the match, but it was Small's takedown as time expired that proved to be the difference in the top-25 tilt. Small took out LaMont by a final score of 13-12. No. 5 Parker took on Cameron Hunsaker at 141 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Parker scored on an escape and a takedown in the second. He began the third period on top and did well to break Hunsaker down. Parker was able to earn the fall in 6:43 to bring the Cyclones into the intermission, leading 24-0. Out of the break, Leisure strapped it up with Landon Knutzen. Leisure scored a quick take down and turned Knutzen for a four-point nearfall. Leisure then bullied Knutzen over again and pinned the Wolverine in 1:50. Carr, ranked No. 3 at 157 pounds, was also quick to his attack, taking Jerry Rubio down off the whistle. He let Rubio out and took him back down and turned him for a four-point nearfall. Leading 8-1, Carr was patient and locked in the fall in 1:29. At 165 pounds, Chase Straw racked up four takedowns in a commanding 11-5 decision over Koy Wilkinson. The other big story line for the Cyclones on Thursday night was the lineup shuffle at 174 and 184 pounds. Sam Colbray is now down at 174 pounds and Marcus Coleman is making the bump up to 184 pounds. In their debuts at their new weights, Colbray and Coleman both earned victories. Colbray took out Grant LaMont by a score of 4-1, while Coleman iced away the shutout behind a 7-4 victory over Jacob Armstrong. Next Up Iowa State continues its trip out West on Saturday with the Sun Devil Duals. ISU will take on Campbell (12 p.m. CT), Harvard (2 p.m. CT) and Arizona State (8 p.m. CT) at Chase Field on Saturday. It will be the first wrestling event to ever be held at a Major League Baseball stadium. Results: 197: Joel Shapiro (ISU) pinned Tate Orndorff (UVU), 2:12. 285: Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Chase Trussell (UVU), 3-2. 125: Alex Mackall (ISU) pinned Will Edelblute (UVU), 2:55. 133: Todd Small (ISU) dec. Taylor LaMont (UVU), 13-12. 141: Ian Parker (ISU) pinned Cameron Hunsaker (UVU), 6:45. 149: Ryan Leisure (ISU) pinned Landon Knutzen (UVU), 1:51. 157: David Carr (ISU) pinned Jerry Rubio (UVU), 1:29. 165: Chase Straw (ISU) dec. Koy Wilkinson (UVU), 7-5. 174: Sam Colbray (ISU) dec. Grant LaMont (UVU), 4-1. 184: Marcus Coleman (ISU) dec. Jacob Armstrong (UVU), 7-4.

DAVIDSON -- A new year opened with a dominant road victory for California Baptist University over Davidson on Thursday. The Lancers came out aggressive and shot early and often to help them win nine of 10 matches and defeat the Wildcats 33-4 to open a four-dual road trip in the John M. Belk Arena. Zach Schrader, Arick Lopez, Garrett Strang and AJ Raya posted bonus-point victories for CBU, which also received overtime wins from Adam Velasquez and Zach Rowe. The Lancers improve to 3-2 on the year, while Davidson falls to 1-5. CBU will dual three more teams on Friday at Cormack Hall on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute. The Lancers open against VMI at 8 a.m. Pacific, followed by a 10 a.m. showdown with Cleveland State before concluding with a noon dual against Clarion. Schrader capped off the dual with a pin of Finlay Houston in the heavyweight bout for his eighth pin of the season and 15th of his career. He was leading 9-2 before recording the fall with 43 seconds left in the second period. The redshirt junior is just the 10th Lancer in school history to record at least 15 pins in a career. Thursday's victory also marked career win 51 for Schrader to move him up to No. 19 in CBU history in that category. Strang posted a 17-5 major decision victory over Gavin Henry, despite trailing the Wildcat 2-1 three minutes into the 184-pound bout. Strang dominated the second period, 7-0, to take a 9-2 lead into the third. The Temecula native added two more takedowns and a nearfall in the final 40 seconds of regulation to put the finishing touches on the victory. It is career win 37 for Strang, which ranks him 25th in CBU's record book. Both Schrader and Strang are now a perfect 5-0 in dual matches this season. Raya maintained the team lead in victories this season with an 11-2 major decision over Will Baldwin at 149 pounds. He got two takedowns in the first period and added a nearfall in the third period to run away with the win. Lopez and Jacob Cooper both shutout their opponents in the 197 and 174-pound matches, respectively. It was Lopez who was responsible for the fourth bonus-point win, as he posted 12 points for the major decision against Evan Clark. Cooper tallied seven points for the decision victory over Steven Newell. He got a takedown in the first 15 seconds of the match and never looked back. Velasquez outlasted David Loniewski for a 6-4 overtime win at 141. Rowe followed up the excitement with a 3-1 win in an extra period against Hunter Costa at 157. Dilan Atjun and Christian Nunez started the dual with 9-4 and 10-3 decision victories at 125 and 133, respectively. Atjun jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first period and Nunez also got a takedown in the first 10 seconds. Results: 125: Dilan Atjun (CBU) dec. over Cian Fischer (DAV), 9-4 133: Christian Nunez (CBU) dec. over Kyle Gorant (DAV), 10-3 141: Adam Velasquez (CBU) SV1 over David Loniewski (DAV), 6-4 149: AJ Raya (CBU) maj. dec. Will Baldwin (DAV), 11-2 157: Zachary Rowe (CBU) SV1 over Hunter Costa (DAV), 3-1 165: Noah Satterfield (DAV) maj. dec. over Cole Pruitt (CBU), 10-1 174: Jacob Cooper (CBU) dec. over Steven Newell (DAV), 7-0 184: Garrett Strang (CBU) maj. dec. over Gavin Henry (DAV), 17-5 197: Arick Lopez (CBU) maj. dec. over Evan Clark (DAV), 12-0 285: Zach Schrader (CBU) fall over Finlay Holston (DAV), 4:16

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- A second-period pin from Matt Zovistoski produced the strong start that App State wanted in its Southern Conference opener. Zovistoski delivered the first of four pins for the Mountaineers, who earned bonus points in six of their eight wins and posted a 40-9 road victory at Gardner-Webb on Thursday night. Julian Gorring, Cary Miller and Sean Carter also recorded wins by fall, with Gorring and Carter -- both true freshmen -- getting timely ones in the final 35 seconds of their matches. Thomas Flitz earned a major decision, Paul Carson avenged a recent loss with a seven-point victory, Bradley Irwin earned a hard-fought decision and Jonathan Millner closed the dual with a win by forfeit for the Mountaineers (2-2, 1-0). With the dual beginning at 157 pounds, Zovistoski faced Taylor Parks a week after winning a 6-3 decision against him at the Southern Scuffle. Leading 2-0 after one period Thursday, Zovistoski executed a reversal and then pinned Parks midway through the second period. Zovistoski became just the eighth wrestler in App State history to accumulate 90 career wins. App State led 6-3 after RJ Mosley's 10-4 decision against Will Formato, and Flitz entered the third period against Samuel Mora at 174 pounds with a 6-0 lead before building a double-digit advantage. Gorring took a 7-2 lead with two-plus minutes of riding time into the third period at 184 pounds and pinned Christian Salter with 23 seconds left. The Mountaineers increased their lead to 19-3 on Carson's 9-2 decision against Roderick Davis, who had pulled out a 4-3 win against Carson on a takedown in the closing seconds of their 197-pound match at the Southern Scuffle. Carson led 3-2 after one period Thursday, rode out Davis in the second period and broke the match open in the third, delivering a takedown with 41 seconds left. Miller needed only 1:42 to pin fellow heavyweight Gabriel Pickett for his fifth win by fall of the season and the 27th pin of his career. Carter made it back-to-back pins by registering one with just 33 seconds left in his match against Michael Pappaconstantinou at 125 pounds. Carter had a sizable riding time advantage while entering the third period with a 3-2 lead thanks to his ability to ride out the second period, and he dominated the third period before wrapping up the win with his second pin of the year. Gardner-Webb posted a pin at 133 pounds before Irwin and Millner combined for nine points in their victories. Irwin used a takedown in the last 40 seconds of the first period to take the lead for good against Brandon Bright at 141 pounds, and he also rode out his opponent for the entire second period. With the win by forfeit, Millner improved to 20-4 on the season. The 2019-20 wrestling season for App State is presented by Hungry Howies, and the Mountaineers are back in action Sunday at Varsity Gym for a SoCon doubleheader against Presbyterian and Davidson. The doubleheader begins at 2 p.m., and App State Wrestling alums who RSVP will be able to attend the annual Old Timers Match free of charge. Results: 157: Matt Zovistoski (APP) def. Taylor Parks (GWU), fall (4:05) 165: RJ Mosley (GWU) def. Will Formato (APP), 10-4 dec. 174: Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Samuel Mora (GWU), 13-2 maj. dec. 184: Julian Gorring (APP) def. Christian Salter (GWU), fall (6:37) 197: Paul Carson (APP) def. Roderick Davis (GWU), 9-2 dec. 285: Cary Miller (APP) def. Gabriel Pickett (GWU), fall (1:42) 125: Sean Carter (APP) def. Michael Pappaconstantinou, fall (6:27) 133: Trevon Majette (GWU) def. Codi Russell (APP), fall (0:57) 141: Bradley Irwin def. Brandon Bright (GWU), 4-1 dec. 149: Jonathan Millner (APP) won by forfeit

C.J. Morgan A long-standing tradition -- senior night for Army West Point wrestling -- will take on a new home this year ... all to honor a late Black Knights wrestler who died in a training accident last summer. West Point wrestlers will host Lehigh at the 2020 senior night on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey to honor C.J. Morgan, hometown student-athlete who was killed last June from injuries sustained from a military vehicle accident in the U.S. Military Academy's training area 50 miles north of New York City. Morgan, originally from West Orange, N.J., was a West Point Class of 2020 cadet studying law. He wrestled at 184 pounds, compiling a 28-22 overall record. Prior to taking to the mat for the Black Knights, Morgan wrestled at West Orange High School, where he placed fifth in the New Jersey state wrestling tournament in the 182-pound class as a senior in 2015. He had a 30-1 record that season with 20 pins. West Point head wrestling coach Kevin Ward explained how the U.S. Military Academy's mat program came to the decision to relocate the event this year. "We just felt like moving our senior day match to West Orange was the right thing to do," said Ward. "I left the decision up to our seniors, and they didn't hesitate, they knew they wanted to wrestle in C.J.'s home gym on senior night. I appreciate everyone's support in making this happen and we look forward to honoring C.J. on senior night."

Montreat College will be adding men's wrestling to its roster of intercollegiate athletic activities, the North Carolina school announced this week. In addition, Montreat will be also adding a co-ed cheer and dance program at the same time. Director of Athletics Jose Larios said, "With the support of the board of trustees and President (Paul J.) Maurer and his cabinet, we are excited to launch these two new athletic programs. Across the southeast, both collegiate wrestling and cheer and dance programs are growing rapidly. By offering these two new programs, with scholarship support, we are expanding our reach and making Montreat College a great option for students who want these programs to be a part of their education and collegiate experience." Montreat College's varsity sports programs compete under the Cavaliers name within the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). Montreat is a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC), which currently boasts six member schools with wrestling programs and an AAC conference championship event. Larios said, "Our immediate focus will be for our wrestling program to compete very well at our AAC championships, in hopes of qualifying as many individuals for the NAIA Wrestling Championships." Along with the AAC, nearby Conference Carolinas (NCAA DII) institutions will provide Montreat College's new wrestling program with additional opportunities to compete. For Fall 2020, Larios anticipates a wrestling roster of 12-15 student-athletes. A national search for a wrestling coach has already begun. Here's how the school describes itself at its official website: "Montreat College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college founded in 1916 and offering associate, bachelor's, and master's degree programs for traditional and adult students. Montreat College's main campus for four-year traditional students is located in Montreat, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside Asheville." Montreat College has a total enrollment of approximately 900 students.

EMORY, Va. -- Emory & Henry College Director of Athletics Anne Crutchfield has announced the addition of men's and women's wrestling as intercollegiate sports which will begin competition during the 2020-21 academic year. The teams expand the College's varsity sports offerings to 22 NCAA Division III programs, IDA and IHSA equestrian teams and competitive cheer and dance squads. "The popularity of wrestling in the region, as well as across the country, will provide Emory & Henry with a new pool of student-athletes to join our athletic programs," said Crutchfield. "We are in the process of hiring our coaching staff, and we are excited to grow our department. Our new programs will allow these dedicated student-athletes to continue their career and sport they're passionate about while in college." According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its 2018-19 High School Participation Survey, girls' wrestling has climbed to the 17th-most popular high school sport and boys' wrestling remains seventh at the high school level in terms of participants. The combined number of high school wrestlers nationwide, including both boys and girls, grew to 268,565 -- an increase of 6,439 athletes (or 2.5%) -- in 2018-19. Wrestling has become a growing sport in NCAA Division III for both men and women. However, Emory & Henry will be just the second school in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) to offer both men's and women's wrestling. Currently, only Ferrum College provides both. Washington and Lee University currently offers men's wrestling while Roanoke College and Shenandoah University have recently made announcements to add the sport. "As wrestling continues to grow, we hope to see more ODAC schools add wrestling to allow us to compete on a conference level," added Crutchfield. "Until then, we will continue to offer high-level competition at matches on the regional and national levels." Crutchfield says the College plans to have a head coach for both men's and women's wrestling hired by the start of February. For more information on the teams, please contact Anne Crutchfield (acrutchfield@ehc.edu) or call the Admissions staff at 1-800-848-5493.